For those of us old enough to remember. “Who’s on First” is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise is that Lou Costello and his partner Bud Abbott are discussing baseball. Costello asks for the names of the players on a team owned by Abbott. The comedy arises from the unique names of the players.
The players’ names can simultaneously serve as the basis for questions (e.g., “Who is the first baseman?”) and responses (e.g., “The first baseman’s name is Who.”), leading to misunderstanding and growing frustration. As the bit progresses the confusion mounts and frustration leads to a comical outcome.
It occurs to me that sometimes even we, as professed disciples of Jesus, become misguided regarding who’s on first in our lives and commitments. That’s not a baseball metaphor, but rather a statement of the confusion that we allow to govern our lives when we try to serve two masters.
Jesus addressed this attempt at living with one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world when he declared, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24, cf. Luke 6:13). Jesus is clear: one must choose one’s allegiance. It is not possible to serve God and compromise one’s priorities to secular standards. It is not an option.
In ancient Judaism during the time of Jesus there were two dominant, but quite different, groups who influenced religious and political policy. The Sadducees were wealthy aristocrats who controlled Temple worship and were complicit with the Romans. The Pharisees were primarily middle-class scholars and laypeople who had a stronger connection to the common people.
Theologically, the Sadducees recognized only the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) as authoritative. Pharisees accepted the entire Hebrew Bible (Torah, Prophets, and Writings) as authorized. Further, the Pharisees held to the authority of the Oral Law.
The conflict referred to by Matthew centered on the question of the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees had attempted to trick Jesus by asking him a question based on the custom of levirate marriage. Levirate marriage held that if a man died without an heir his brother was to marry the widow and raise children, thus carrying on the family name and lineage. It is an ironic question, in that Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. Jesus turns the table on them by making it clear that God’s future does not uphold present patriarchal patterns but creates a different world.
When the Pharisees learned that Jesus had shot down the Sadducees, they tried their own question, “which commandment in the law is the greatest?” In his response Jesus quotes the first commandment from Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5. The heart is the center of a person’s willing, choosing, doing. Jesus then quotes Leviticus 19:18. Leviticus 19 offers an extensive vision of a world marked by just human relations and practical care. Jesus demonstrated this vision in his ministry and criticized the current religious leaders for failing to do so.
In quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, Jesus is stating the foundational belief of the Jewish faith. This prayer is called the Shema and is the central declaration of the Jewish faith. The Shema is composed of three distinct passages from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9, 11:13-21, Numbers 15:37-41) and is traditionally recited twice a day (morning and evening).
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
There is no equivocation in this statement. God has absolute first place in our lives. God is the focus of our love, the purpose of our lives, and the motivation of our spirit. The first commandment reinforces the primacy of God on the throne of our lives. Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me” (italics added cf. Deuteronomy 5:7).
Anything or anyone that we give precedence to above God in our lives, is an idol. God will not tolerate being second in our commitments. We demonstrate our love for God in the way we treat our neighbor. When Luke recounts this confrontation, the questioner tries to challenge Jesus by asking, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). Jesus’ response is what we know as the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable a wounded traveler is aided by one who is a traditional enemy. The neighbor in the story is the one who showed compassion to the fallen traveler.
To love God with the totality one’s being is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Who’s on first? Is not merely a comedy routine, but a serious question, which demands a serious answer. Each of us must answer the question for ourselves. Who’s on first in my life?
The way I treat you Is the indisputable answer.
